http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060113/ap_on_he_me/fit_caloric_restriction_study_5
A very low calorie diet can help the heart age more slowly, according
to researchers who released what they call the first-ever human study
on the subject.
The findings confirmed earlier studies on mice and rats that
demonstrate the cardiac benefits of a restricted calorie diet.
The study looked at the heart function of 25 members of the Caloric
Restriction Society, ages 41 to 64, who consume 1,400 to 2,000
nutritionally balanced calories per day. They were compared to 25
people who eat a typical Western diet, consuming 2,000 to 3,000 daily
calories on average.
The result: Those limiting caloric intake had the heart functions of
much younger people ? typically about 15 years younger than their
age. Ultrasound exams showed group members had hearts that appeared
more elastic than most people their age; their hearts were also able
to relax between beats in a way similar to hearts in younger people.
"This is the first study to demonstrate that long-term calorie
restriction with optimal nutrition has cardiac-specific effects that
(delay or reverse) age-associated declines in heart function," said
Luigi Fontana, lead author and assistant professor of medicine at
Washington University in St. Louis.
The study will be published Tuesday in the Journal of the American
College of Cardiology.
Fontana said simply consuming less food is not the answer. Members of
the study group eat food resembling a traditional Mediterranean diet,
focusing on vegetables, olive oil, beans, whole grains, fish and
fruit. They avoid refined and processed foods, soft drinks, desserts,
white bread and other sources of "empty" calories.
For the general public, the researchers recommend a moderate reduction
in calories, combined with moderate, regular exercise.
Research on mice and rats indicated that life span can be stretched by
about 30 percent with stringent and consistent caloric
restriction. That research also suggested that restricting calories
can help prevent cancer.
Heart attacks and strokes cause about 40 percent of deaths in Western
countries, researchers said. Cancer causes another 30 percent. Fontana
said those deaths are attributable to "secondary aging" from high
cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure and other often-preventable
conditions.
While it has long been known that a healthy diet and exercise can
reduce risks, the study suggests that caloric restriction combined
with optimal nutrition can do even more.
Fontana said most participants in the study had immediate relatives
who suffered heart attacks or strokes, so it was unlikely their
genetic makeup was a contributing factor to their unusually healthy
hearts.
"We don't know how long each individual will end up living, but they
certainly have a longer life expectancy than average because they're
most likely not going to die from a heart attack, stroke or diabetes,"
said professor John O. Holloszy, who worked on the study. "And if, in
fact, their hearts are aging more slowly, it's conceivable they'll
live for a very long time."
On the Net:
Washington University: http://www.wustl.edu/